WHAT a splendid Bank Holiday weekend of events in York, with the BBC Music Live festival.

All we need now is the York Tomorrow vision of a green amphitheatre in York instead of the Coppergate II horror and the people of the city and its visitors could have somewhere to relax comfortably away from the hurly-burly to listen to, or watch, public entertainment. York could also have its own cultural quarter.

The BBC wanted to encourage councils to follow their lead, let the council lead with a bigger vision and look at the alternative to a shopper's Coppergate.

Mick Phythian,

Monkton Road, York.

...I WOULD like to congratulate BBC Radio York for arranging the excellent concert The Music of John Barry at the Grand Opera House. It was just magical and the phone-in link with John Barry himself was the icing on the cake.

The concert was better than we had dared to expect and I was so pleased that so many people turned out from far and wide to support it. Some people in front of us travelled specially from London.

This was a momentous occasion, the very first time that the music of York- born John Barry has been performed in his home city.

If any of our city fathers had been in the Grand Opera House they could not have failed to have felt the great pride and admiration which, like me, the audience had for this wonderful man of music - our local lad made good.

I do hope that the full executive of City of York Council bear this in mind when they come to discuss my nominations of both John Barry OBE and Dame Judi Dench as Honorary Freemen of the City.

Certainly the spontaneous reaction of the audience to the idea at the concert spoke volumes on behalf of the people of York for these well-loved personalities of screen, stage and television.

Peter Stanhope,

Grange Close,

Skelton, York.

Updated: 10:44 Thursday, May 31, 2001